At the end of June 2021 the time had finally come.
After Johannes Krause, his wife and their three children had dared to move from Stuttgart to the Taiwanese capital Taipei three years earlier for professional reasons, the family wanted to visit their homeland again after a long time.
Aware that a two-week corona quarantine in their own four walls would await them when they returned to Taiwan.
But just during their three days in Stuttgart, the Taiwanese government changed the rules and ordered a hotel quarantine after the family's return.
Specifically: A taxi driver, protected by a large separating film in the car, mask and gloves, brought all five into a 16 square meter room after testing at the airport.
After that, a table was placed in front of the door as a blockade.
“After the first week we really felt like we were on the head.
That was brutally exhausting,” recalls Johannes Krause.
The food, which was brought three times a day, was the highlight of the day. At least a friend of the family was allowed to bring toys.
The family killed time with building blocks, YouTube videos and movie nights. After the 14 days, however, it was clear: "We won't get involved in this a second time," says Krause via Whatsapp video call while walking through the streets of Taipei.
He appreciates his freedom in a completely different way now.
The island state of Taiwan in the western Pacific, directly off the Chinese mainland, attracted a great deal of attention during the corona pandemic: From the beginning of the pandemic until April 4, 2021, only a total of 1047 cases were identified in Taiwan, i.e. 4.55 cases per 100,000 inhabitants - and that without lockdown.
In Germany there were 3489 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the same period and in the USA 9356. Today, almost two and a half years after the outbreak of the pandemic, the incidence value is reaching one record level after the other.
Living and working as a posted worker in Taiwan during the corona pandemic: is it a dream or a nightmare?
Contradict the boss?
That's not right!
In fact, the Krauses led largely normal lives for most of the time.
Johannes Krause, in his late 30s, works for an energy company and in 2018 accepted his employer's offer to be responsible for connecting to the Taiwan grid and lobbying for potential offshore wind turbines.
Even without Corona, expat life is an adventure.
Even the move didn't go as planned: it took eight weeks for the container with the family's belongings to arrive in their new, 120-square-meter apartment in a high-rise building in northern Taipei.
A small consolation: "My wife and I had to sleep on an air mattress, but at least the view of the Yangmingshan National Park is beautiful," says Krause.
What's more: a foreign language, a completely new environment and the polite reserve of many Taiwanese - the family first had to get used to all of this.
The cultural change was anything but easy, especially for the children: Valentin, who is four years old today, goes to a state kindergarten, eight-year-old Clemens goes to a state school – and both of them needed a long time to make friends due to the language barrier.
It was easier for Krause's daughter, who is now ten years old: "There were also German children at Marta's European School, so it was a little easier for them to make friends," says the engineer.
His wife Elena, also in her late 30s, couldn't find a job in Taiwan - probably due to a lack of Mandarin.
A high degree of competition
What initially seemed strange to Krause was the rather conservative work culture from his point of view.
"A Taiwanese would never contradict the boss in front of the group or tell you directly that you made a mistake," says Krause.
What also irritated him at first: “Many Taiwanese accept an appointment request via Outlook with reservations, but actually mean a rejection.
I sometimes missed the directness that I am used to from Stuttgart.”